Agency and elected officials join the celebration and ribbon cutting for Casa Celina, a 100 percent affordable housing development for seniors in Soundview. Image Credit: Council Member Amanda Farias/X/HPD.
On June 11, 2024, officials from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York CIty Housing Authority, and New York City Housing Development Corporation celebrated the opening of Casa Celina, a building for New York’s seniors featuring over 200 new affordable units. The building is located on NYCHA’s Justice Sonia Sotomayor campus in the Soundview section of the Bronx.
Casa Celina is a 16-story building with 204 apartments, including 46 one-bedrooms and 158 studios. Of those apartments, 62 have been saved for seniors who formerly experienced homelessness. The other 142 apartments are for seniors earning 50 percent area median income or lower. The final apartment is for a live-in superintendent. NYCHA residents will have preference for 35 apartments. JASA will manage the property and provide supportive services.
The units for formerly homeless seniors come furnished with basic furniture like bed frames and seating, and these residents will also be given a stipend to purchase additional appliances or items from a catalog. The building features a 1,725 square foot community senior space staffed by JASA, a laundry room, fitness room, lounge spaces on each floor, and a landscaped roof terrace.
Justice Sotomayor toured the site in April 2024, and met with the development team and residents. Casa Celina is named after Justice Sotomayor’s mother, Celina Báez. Justice Sotomayor also donated a library to the development for all tenants.
The project cost $113 million and was financed through $43 million in HDC bonds; a $7 million subsidy from HDC’s Extremely Low & Low-Income Affordability (ELLA) and HPD’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) programs. The project was also financed through $53 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity.
Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce stated, “Casa Celina brings affordable homes to the Soundview community, thoughtfully designed with older adults in mind. With an array of gathering spaces, a beautiful roof terrace, a library, and services provided on-site by JASA, Casa Celina is ready to welcome hundreds to their new homes. With 30% of units specifically for our neighbors exiting shelters, this development will provide much needed support, community, and care for over 200 older adults in New York City.”
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson stated, “Affordable housing in our city is a fundamental necessity, especially for our older adults. Casa Celina is designed to foster a vibrant, supportive, and inclusive environment with holistic services that care for its tenants’ emotional, mental, and physical well-being. It will be a place where our seniors, especially those who have experienced housing insecurity, can find stability, independence, and a true sense of belonging.
City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías, who represents the district, stated, “Soundview is an intergenerational community. We have families who want to keep their grandparents close and seniors who want to age with dignity in the same community they have spent decades building. With the ongoing affordability and housing crisis in New York City, Casa Celina is critical for the health and wellness of our Bronx seniors. I am incredibly proud to have this building in our community and thank our public and private partners for their dedication to prioritizing seniors.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)